A/N: Goddamnit, these chapters are getting way too long. I promise the next one will be shorter. I'm sick of doing this.

Öyleyse iki mezar kaz, çünkü öldüğünde,
yemin ederim yanın—

On autopilot, Rook reached over and turned his alarm off without needing to think about it. He was absolutely exhausted. It felt like he could sleep an entire week away and barely notice or even really care. He certainly didn't care at the moment. Rook buried his face in his pillow and curled up tighter in his blankets, eyes shut tightly as he tried to go back to sleep. It was nice of Ben to set an alarm, though.

Wait.

In an instant, any desire for sleep was forgotten as Rook shot bolt upright in bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes but that didn't change what he was looking at. His bedroom. Even though he had fallen asleep at Ben's house. Rook's alarm clock was functioning perfectly, despite the fact that he knew he had broken it the morning before. He was in his boxers, not his armor. And Ben was…

Rook fumbled for his communicator where it was on the nightstand, turned on as if he hadn't shut it off just the morning before. He pulled up the connection to Ben's Omnitrix, holding his breath as the flat tone buzzed away. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he was terrified. He had just fallen asleep next to Ben! What if he didn't answer? He hadn't gone near that fire, but what if that didn't change anything? What if it didn't matter how it happened, just that Rook had lost his vigilance, and Ben was dead again?

After what felt like an eternity but could have only been a minute or two, Ben finally answered. Rook heard a click as the transmission was accepted, then the shuffling of blankets and a groan. "Rook?" Ben's voice came over the speaker, a little worried but mostly tired and annoyed. "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

Hearing him, Rook's mouth went dry. What was going on? Ben didn't sound upset or consoling, like Rook would have expected him to be after what happened between them. For a moment, he wasn't sure what to say. Then, slowly, he asked, "Ben, what is today?"

He groaned again, even louder than before. Rook thought that he heard a curse of some kind in the mix. "Dude, is this an out-of-season April Fools' joke? You have the date and time on your communicator." A pause, where Ben sounded like he was moving around. "Today's Thrusday." he said finally, unhappily. "That's not even a funny day of the week. Did you really need to wake me up for this?"

That was enough. Rook swallowed thickly. "No," he whispered, and he hung up.

Staring blankly ahead of him, Rook set the communicator down with a clatter and didn't move. It was Thursday, for the fourth time in a row. Why? He had assumed that it was a dream, perhaps a loop that made him forget the time spent awake in between them. Two was coincidental, but three was a pattern. The same thing had happened to Rook for four days straight. If it wasn't a dream, then what could it be? What was happening?

He laid back with a heavy sigh and blinked up at his ceiling. Despite having just put it down, Rook fumbled again for his communicator. He wasn't planning to call Ben twice, though. Gwendolyn was in a different time zone. It would still be early for her, but hopefully she would forgive his call.

It took even longer for Gwendolyn to answer than it did for Ben, which didn't surprise Rook. Technically, she had retired from the Plumbers. There was no requirement for her to have her Plumber badge near her anymore. Regardless of how long it took, Rook was willing to wait. He couldn't think of anyone else that he could talk to about this.

When Gwendolyn did eventually answer, she was just as groggy as Ben had been. "Hello?" She sort of slurred the word and Rook could hear her muffling a yawn. "Rook? Is something wrong? This was one of the few days that I didn't have to get up early for class."

"Apologies," Rook said reflexively, without really meaning it. "I need to discuss something with you urgently. It is about Ben."

He felt the shift in Gwendolyn's attitude. The line was quiet for a moment, save the sound of her moving around, then there was a sigh. "Alright, I'm ready. What happened? He's not hurt, is he?"

Rook pursed his lips. He thought for a moment about how to say it, then said, "I am going to say some things that will sound ridiculous. Listen to the end before dismissing me." Without waiting for permission, so eager to get it out that he felt as though he might burst, Rook rushed into his explanation. "It started a few days ago. On a job that should have been simple, Ben died. The Omnitrix— there was a malfunction, he was…" Rook had to take a breath. "But then I woke up the next morning and he was alive again! And— and the same things happened, in the same order. The same accident killed him, he died again, and yesterday, I… I did my best to keep Ben alive and I succeeded. Or, at least, I thought I did. I thought that I was having some sort of prophetic dream to tell me to prevent a disaster, but… Ben did not die yesterday. And yet, here I am, on the same day for a fourth time. It has been Thursday for four days now, Gwendolyn," he whispered, "and no one remembers it except for me. What is happening? What am I supposed to do?"

Miraculously, Gwendolyn didn't hang up. She was silent for a long time. Then, after what felt like hours but had to have been only minutes, she said, "I don't know, but I have a few ideas about how we can find out. Kevin and I will meet up with you at Ben's house in an hour. I'll get him up and ready and let Grandpa Max know that you're both going to miss patrol today. Can you handle yourself until then?"

Despite himself, Rook smiled. That was the most blunt way of asking if he was going to be okay that he had ever heard. He appreciated that Gwendolyn could be brash with him.

"An hour might be too long to wait," he admitted.

Gwendolyn chuckled. "I can do a half hour, but that's it. I still have to get dressed and make myself presentable. And Ben has the worst morning breath."

He nodded. "That will be fine. And, Gwendolyn?" Rook hesitated. He thought back to Kevin knocking him to the ground and Gwedolyn crouched next to him, supporting Rook even though she'd had every right to be furious with him. He softened. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," Gwendolyn responded flippantly. "It'll be a miracle if I can get Kevin out of bed in half-an-hour. But I'll see you then, alright, Rook?"

"Alright," he agreed. He hung up and got out of bed to dress and shower. Everything was still overwhelming and confusing, but Rook felt a little bit better about his situation. At least he didn't have to figure it out alone.

He took longer than he probably should have in the shower, just watching water swirl down the drain with a vacant look on his face. Rook wasn't lost in thought or anything — in fact, he was barely thinking at all. Nothing was making any sense.

Three days ago, Ben had died in a collapsing building. Rook couldn't breathe.

He got out and dressed in his usual body suit and armor. Normally, doing so gave Rook a sense of power and control. He felt confident, ready to take on the world. Or the galaxy, or even the universe, depending on what mess he and Ben had to tackle on any given day. But looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, Rook felt nothing. How could he have ever considered himself powerful? No matter how much armor he put on, no matter how skilled a fighter he was, no matter how many precautions he took, he wasn't above death. No one was, nothing ever could be. Rook had thought he was okay with that, and in some ways, he was.

He had accepted his own mortality — it was everyone else's that he was terrified of.

It was five-twenty in the morning when Rook reached the Proto-TRUK. As normal, barely anyone else was awake and no one talked to him on the way to the garage. When Ben was with him, Rook thought, people waved and smiled or even stopped to talk for a few minutes. He had always assumed that it was because Ben was a bigger deal than him, but maybe that wasn't quite right. Maybe it was just because Ben was a better person. A better friend, definitely.

He got into the TRUK and started off. Unlike the last time he had driven to Ben's house (had that been a dream, or had it been real?), Rook maintained enough presence of mind to be aware of other drivers and follow the laws of driving. Funny. He had learned how to drive starships on the first day of Plumber Academy, but driving cars and trucks was something that he had learned only in preparation to be Ben's partner. A lot of his training had centered around Ben, Rook realized. He just hadn't realized how much he centered around Ben until that stable ground had crumbled beneath his feet.

At five-thirty on the dot, Rook parked the TRUK on the road outside of Ben's house. It was good to see that he still knew how to be punctual, as if that meant anything. Rook sighed and got out of the TRUK, locking it behind him. He walked up to the front door, unsure. Were Gwendolyn and Kevin already there? He didn't see any other car on the street.

He raised his hand to knock, only to have the door swing open before he could. Rook blinked, surprised, and stiffened when he saw that it was Kevin who had answered.

Oblivious to Rook's reaction, Kevin stepped aside and waved him inside. "Hey. Gwendolyn said she felt you pull up," he said in a surprisingly soft voice. "We're keeping it down for Ben's parents sake. They said we can all hang out in his room, but we've got to keep it down until seven because that's when his dad gets up to get ready for work."

Rook nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind them. "I will maintain a low volume," he said quietly. He let Kevin lead the way to Ben's room, though he already knew where it was. They didn't speak on the way there, but Rook wasn't sure if that was due to Kevin's tense mood or the fact that they were passing Ben's parent's room.

When he entered Ben's room, Rook was surprised to see that there were two fold-out chairs set up amidst the untidy piles spotting the floor. They had been arranged with the desk chair around Ben's bed to make a conference circle. In the desk chair, Gwendolyn was sitting with a glass of water. It clicked then that she must have teleported herself and Kevin there, which was how they got the Bellwood in such limited time. And sitting on the bed…

As soon as he saw Ben, Rook averted his eyes. He was in the exact same pajamas that he had been the day before, but instead of showering to receive guests, he'd just put on his white-and-green hoodie and sat up on the edge of his bed. He still looked tired, but being sleepy and a little irritable was much preferred over seeing Ben dead.

"Here, you can sit there," Kevin said, pointing Rook to the chair near Ben while he took the spare one closest to Gwendolyn. "Ben's dad keeps a bunch of fold out chairs in the garage. We used to use them a lot back in the day for these types of group plans."

"Speaking of which," Ben interrupted, muffling a yawn. "What exactly are we planning? None of you told me anything, you just teleported into my room and made me sit up." He pointed at Gwendolyn accusingly. "Give a guy a little warning next time, would you? I almost fell out of bed."

There was silence while Gwendolyn shot Rook a look, questioning him. She must have told Kevin some details, since he didn't look surprised, but he gathered that she hadn't said very much. It was best that Rook told everyone all at once, anyway. She had done more than enough just by getting them all together.

To start, Rook took a deep breath. Once he was steady, he forced himself to look Ben directly in the eyes. "Three days ago, it was also Thursday," he said evenly. He was impressed with how calm he sounded. In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth. "There was an accident, while we were out on patrol. Something… went wrong. The Omnitrix failed. And, Ben, you died."

The word "died" hung in the air, the tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Kevin, apparently, hadn't been told that detail because he was sitting up a lot straighter. Ben had that careful, blank look on his face. It was impossible to say what he was thinking.

No one spoke, so Rook continued. As much as he didn't want to talk about it, he knew that he should include as much detail as possible. He hadn't given Gwendolyn much to go off of over the phone. "You died," Rook repeated, trying to ground himself. "I dug you out of the rubble and watched the Plumbers on scene take your corpse back to the Plumber base. I… did not handle it well." He pursed his lips thoughtfully, pausing for a moment. He looked everywhere except at his friends. "I went to bed and when I awoke, I had no desire to get out of bed. I stayed there until you came and got me for patrol, Ben. You were alive. So I assumed that what I had experienced was simply a realistic dream. But as the day wore on, more things happened exactly as I knew they would. For example," he said, finally managing to look at Ben directly, "I know that your mother is currently on a juice cleanse. Before noon, there's going to be an attack on a pharmaceutical research facility when one of Fistrick's lackeys attempts to steal experimental performance enhancers. The attack will fail whether we are involved or not. And as the second day continued…" Rook trailed off. He looked down at his gloved hands and couldn't help but frown. "I tried, but you still died. I attempted CPR and you…" He winced at the memory. "One of your ribs, I think, snapped. You had a horrible concussion and there was bone jutting out of your leg."

There wasn't a good way for Rook to continue, he thought. Somehow, talking about the way Gwendolyn and Kevin had reacted afterward was more intimate than speaking of Ben's death. It was hard enough to go into the details of that. No matter where Rook looked, all he could see was Ben's last breath, the peaceful look on his face, the light leaving his eyes. He closed his eyes and it was imprinted on the back of his eyelids.

A hand touched his arm, pressure that Rook barely felt through his armor. Surprised, he looked up. Ben had leaned over to offer him a reassuring touch, a faint smile on his face. "You don't have to go into that much detail if it's hard to think about," he said quietly. Rook found the energy to nod. Once he managed to pull himself together, Ben leaned back. "Okay. So, what happened after that?" He put his leg up for emphasis, still forcing that smile. "I mean, obviously my leg isn't horrifically mangled. And I'm still breathing, last I checked."

Rook gave him a smile that felt more like a grimace. He knew what Ben was trying to do and he appreciated it. "Obviously," he agreed. "I thought that I had failed whatever prophetic dream I had experienced. But then I woke up, again, and it was still Thursday. I came to check on you immediately, Ben, and you were alive. Again. I told you what had happened as though they were dreams and managed to convince you to stay home and not go to the mission that killed you the first few times. I fell asleep. I thought that, since you were still alive, that would be the end of it." He shook his head. "Then I woke up today and it was Thursday again. You are clearly alive, Ben, which is good, but I can no longer think that I am having a dream. This is all real. I am not sure what is happening and it is starting to scare me," Rook admitted. "No one remembers this happening except for me."

He didn't voice any of his thoughts but, truthfully, Rook was starting to worry about the long-term. It seemed like he was caught in a loop of one day, though he didn't know why. If that was the case, then how was he supposed to break it? Was he going to spend the rest of his life reliving it all, the same day, over and over again? How many times was Ben going to die?

How long would Rook have the energy to keep saving him?

The idea that Rook could reach a point of mental exhaustion where he could ever knowingly and willingly let Ben die was terrifying to him, but he was being realistic. How many days would it take of reliving the same thing until Rook stopped caring about anything at all? Another week? A month? A year? All the same day. Nothing would ever change. It would essentially be Rook, alone, for eternity.

Just thinking about it knocked the breath out of him. No. Rook couldn't let it come to that. There had to be a solution.

"You're right. That definitely doesn't sound like a dream to me," Gwendolyn finally spoke, breaking the tension. "It sounds like a time loop."

Kevin nodded, sitting back in his seat. He was feigning casualness, but he was as stiff as a board. "Mm, that's a new one. I don't think we've had one of those before. What are we going to do about it, though?"

"Yeah, I'm more worried about stopping it than figuring out why it's happening," Ben chimed it. "Or why Rook is the only one remembering what's happening."

Though he nodded, Rook was actually insanely curious to know why he, of all people, had been signaled out. Was he being punished for something? He had sort of assumed that the best possible outcome was for Ben to survive until the end of the day, but that was apparently not what it was going to take. So what was the point of it all?

"Oh, I've got an idea!" Ben snapped his fingers, thoughtful expression giving way to a grin. "I'll just use Clockwork to fix the time loop. If that's all it is, he should be able to smooth it out. Or at least, get a pretty good idea of what's going on if that's not it. He sees five dimensions at once so I think he could figure it out."

That was something that Rook hadn't known about Chronosapiens. He blinked, taken aback. "You can accurately process five dimensions at once without having a mental breakdown?" Rook asked his partner.

Ben gave him a funny look, then sort of shrugged. "Sure. That's what Clockwork is made to do, so it'd be kind of pointless if Azmuth put him into the Omnitrix knowing that the people using it wouldn't be able to handle it." He stood up. "But let's take this to the backyard. Ever since Humungousaur put a hole in my bedroom wall, I haven't been allowed to transform in the house unless it's an emergency."

The atmosphere was a lot grimmer than it normally was between the four of them. If it wasn't so early in the morning, Rook felt that maybe Ben or Kevin would have the energy to crack jokes. It was hard to find any humor in the situation under the best of conditions.

Passing quietly through the darkened house, with Ben leading the way to the back door, their little group was slow going. Somehow, the walls felt too confining when it was dark. The cozy feeling from the day before, when Rook had watched Ben doze on the couch, was long gone. It felt like they were somewhere else entirely.

Going outside didn't help much, either. Ben had a sliding glass door that let out onto a modest patio and a good-sized, fenced back yard. The sun wouldn't be rising for another hour, at the earliest, but the stars in the sky were already beginning to recede as the horizon lightened. They were standing on the cusp of something, Rook thought. The world wasn't meant to be so still or peaceful.

No, peaceful was the wrong word. Like Rook, the world was holding its breath in anticipation, waiting for something.

Waiting for what?

His thoughts were pulled away from philosophical ponderings when Ben stepped away from the three of them and held up his wrist. He didn't have to say anything, but they all took one step back anyway. Clockwork was one of those aliens that you didn't want to be too close to, just in case. Ben was remarkable at controlling his aliens, but it was unreasonable to expect him to be perfect.

"Alright." Ben let out a long sigh and held his Omnitrix wrist up. He selected carefully from his playlist, unlike how he usually slammed down the core without even bothering to look most of the time. "A time anomaly is new for me, but let's see what Clockwork can do."

Even though he had been expecting it, the flash of green light still made Rook wince and cover his eyes. It was blinding compared to their pitch-black surroundings. To his surprise, though, there was a second green flash. When it died down and Rook had adjusted back to the darkness, it was to see Ben collapsed on the ground instead of standing in front of them as Clockwork.

Before Gwendolyn or Kevin had registered what happened, Rook was dropping to his knees at Ben's side, propping him up. "Ben, are you alright? What happened?" He brushed the hair out of his partner's face and couldn't help the sigh of relief when he saw Ben's eyes flickering back and forth behind his eyelids as he tried to open them. Had he really passed out?

By then, Gwendolyn had joined Rook on the ground. Kevin was still on his feet, leaning over them and looking like he was ready to take off should the need arise. Just as quickly as he'd gotten on the ground, though, Ben was sitting up and pushing them back. Rook let him go, giving Ben space to catch his breath and reorient himself as he groaned and held his head.

"I'm fine," Ben said with a sigh. "I just… wow. I wasn't expecting to get hit with that the second that I turned into Clockwork. It caught me so off guard that I transformed back immediately. That's… never happened before."

"What happened, exactly?" Kevin cut in. He knelt down and set one hand on Ben's shoulder, the other on his arm. When he stood, he took Ben with him, making sure that he was steady on his feet before dropping his hands. Rook felt something in his chest clench. He wished that he could have such casual interaction with Ben without feeling like one of the most important people in his life was dying every second that he was looking away.

"It was weird." Ben cupped his chin thoughtfully. Evidently, he had already recovered from his little fainting spell. "I was only Clockwork for a second, but it was…" He searched for the right word. "...loud. It was really loud. It still feels like my ears are ringing. I couldn't even tell what was happening. There was too much happening, I think is the problem. But…" Ben stopped himself. His face scrunched up as he thought hard about something. "Okay. If you think of time as branching off into other realities, then it's like the big one in the middle is shaking and it's causing all of the other ones to rattle, too. That's a terrible way to explain that. Damn. Uh, you know what?" He shook his head. "The point is, I don't know what's happening with the time loop, but I don't think that it's anything we can change. It's not happening in our time stream."

Most of that went over Rook's head and Kevin seemed equally as lost. It was probably hard to wrap your mind around if you hadn't experienced the sort of intensity that Ben did. It was bad enough to make him pass out, even if temporarily.

What had they gotten roped into?

Gwendolyn took Ben by the wrist and tugged him back over to the patio, where a few cushioned seats were set around a low table. She put her hands on his shoulders and nudged him down. Taking the hint, Ben sat. "I swear, you have no idea how to take care of yourself," Gwendolyn muttered. She glanced at Rook and he could have sworn that he saw her wince. But then, back to business, Gwendolyn said, "If it's too much for you to get a good look at, I might have some books on the subject. Not this, specifically, but there's a bunch of time-related spells and incantations that I haven't tried anything with because they're very complex and usually tied to dark magic."

"Dark magic?" Ben repeated with a frown. "Are you sure you want to mess with that? Plus, going through your collection could take all day. How are we even going to know what we're looking for?"

"Ben." Gwendolyn's expression hardened. "Your life is on the line today — and not in the usual way that comes with fighting. We know that you will die. Do you have any better ideas?"

There was no way to argue that, so Ben didn't try. He just nodded and held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I get it. This is… more serious than what we usually have to deal with. So, are we going to teleport to your dorm to start looking through books?"

"Well, I keep my magic collection in Kevin's car," Gwendolyn clarified. "His car is fortified and I used a pocket dimension spell on his trunk. It's not as big as something like the Null Void, but I can fit a lot in there. The four of us could probably stand in it, though between us and all the books and artifacts, it could get cramped."

"It makes packing for road trips really easy," Kevin added in. He set a hand on Gwendolyn's shoulder, looking more serious. "Teleporting puts a strain on you and you've already gotten us from the university to here less than thirty minutes ago. Are you sure you're up for a whole group of people?"

She smiled and placed a hand over Kevin's affectionately. "I'm sure," soothed Gwendolyn. "I can handle a little headache for something this important."

There was a moment of silence, then Ben yawned. "Alright, well—" He went to stand up and almost immediately began shaking on his feet. There were only a few steps between them and Rook didn't hesitate to grab Ben by the elbow, putting the other hand on his back to support him in case he fell or passed out again.

"You should not stand up suddenly after a fainting spell," Rook said chastizingly. He took another moment to make sure that Ben was steady on his feet before letting go. "Are you certain that you are okay?"

With a scoff, Ben waved his hand dismissively. "I'm fine, Rook. Just a little light-headed. If we're going to be going out, I'm taking a shower. It'll only be a few minutes. And," he added before Rook could cut in, "I'm locking the door, so if I slip and fall, I'll deal with it myself. Don't go teleporting anywhere until I get back." He gave Gwendolyn a pointed look as he started walking back to the patio door.

"You've got ten minutes, Tennyson," Kevin shot back. There was a snicker and the sliding door closed behind Ben, leaving the three of them alone in the backyard.

Rook sighed and ran a hand over his face. The sun hadn't even risen yet and he was exhausted. It was as though all he could see anymore was ways that Ben could hurt himself, like there was a countdown hovering in the back of his mind that ticked down every second until it was too late. He was at least comforted knowing that it wasn't set in stone. Ben didn't need to die. He had been saved once already and Rook would keep doing it for as long as he had to.

"Are you alright, Rook?" Gwendolyn asked, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked down at her, confused. She had a hand hanging in the air between them, like she couldn't decide if she should set it on his shoulder or not. Rook had never noticed before, but she had that same furrow between her eyebrows when she was confused that Ben did. "I know you've been through a lot these past few… well, days for you, I guess. Do you want to talk about it? You're hovering around Ben an awful lot," she pointed out. "And I understand why, but if you get any more obvious, it's going to start worrying him."

"What do you mean?" Rook frowned. "I am not hovering. I am being a concerned friend."

Kevin snorted, though there was sympathy on his face. "Dude, are you kidding? Since you got here, I don't think you've given Ben more than five feet of space. I know you're worried, and for a good reason, but Gwendolyn is right. Ben's not as dense as he likes to pretend he is. He's probably noticed by now and just isn't saying anything because he doesn't want to call attention to it and make you feel awkward."

Any retort Rook might have had died when Gwendolyn set a hand on his shoulder. The look on her face made his throat close up. "You left out a lot of details earlier," she said gently. "What happened, Rook? You don't have to say anything, but I think it might help."

There was a weird appeal in talking about it that Rook couldn't explain. Was it really that obvious, how worried about Ben he was? He felt on the verge of collapse and Rook had only lived through four loops thus far. If this whole thing was to continue much longer, he didn't think that he would make it.

He sighed and slumped forward, staring at his hands instead of looking at Gwendolyn. Rook was wearing gloves, perfectly maintained, but even so he could swear that he felt Ben's chest cracking beneath him. "There is not much to say," he said quietly. "I keep thinking… That first day, I was so sure that it was real. Ben had died. I saw his eyes turn dull. The Plumbers carried him away in a casket, not on a stretcher. And it was my fault. If I had done my job better, if I had been looking out for him the way that I am supposed to…" Rook clenched his fists and had to force himself to relax again with a groan. "I was holding him. I was right there. I could have saved him, but I… He died in my arms. And he looked so peaceful. I think that is the worst part. Maybe if Ben had looked as tormented as I was, it would not have been as hard to accept. Very rarely have I ever seen Ben that relaxed. He could have been asleep…" He trailed off. "Had it not been for the broken bones and the blood and the lack of a pulse, I mean."

Gwendolyn winced in sympathy and Kevin grimaced. Her hand left Rook's shoulder. "Oh, God, Rook. I'm so sorry," Gwendolyn said. "Do you want—?"

She was cut off when the patio door slid open. Ben stepped out dressed in his usual shirt and cargo pants, his hair still damp from the shower. "Alright, I'm out of my pajamas and I left a note for mom and dad explaining where we're going. Let's get to—" He paused and raised an eyebrow. "Uh. Am I interrupting something?"

Any moment that might have been happening between them immediately stopped. Gwendolyn took a step away from Rook and held her hands up in surrender, an unconvincing smile on her face. "No, of course not! Not at all! What, uh, could ever give you that idea?" She laughed nervously.

Next to Rook, Kevin snorted. "Smooth," he muttered.

Ben looked incredibly unconvinced, and for good reason. But he must have decided that it wasn't worth saying anything about because he sighed and shrugged. "Okay, great. Are you ready to teleport? I can grab some painkillers for the road if you want," he offered.

"No, that's alright. Kevin keeps some on hand for me, but I don't want to get dependent on them every time I teleport. I'm getting better at it," Gwendolyn said reassuringly. "Now, everyone move in closer. I don't want anyone to end up spliced into a wall."

After what Gwendolyn had mentioned to him, Rook paid careful attention to how close he was to Ben. He figured that it was best to put physical distance between them, just so that Ben didn't think that Rook had lost his mind. And, not that he had a degree in psychology, but hyperfixating on one person to the point of being unable to focus if they weren't within arm's reach didn't strike Rook as a healthy coping mechanism.

Once they were all close enough that Gwendolyn was satisfied, she bowed her head. Her eyes lit up magenta and mana spheres encircled her hands. "Abaeo Exorior," she muttered. A dome of mana appeared around them, wind from nowhere causing only Gwendolyn's hair to whip furiously. Her body blurred, as though being viewed through a filter, and then she was gone. Rook's stomach lurched and he felt himself falling.

He landed hard on his feet, knees aching and fangs clicking together painfully. Rook shook the fog from his head and straightened back up. Ben's backyard was gone and their group found themselves in the garage where Kevin worked and kept a small assortment of personal items. Luckily, his boss didn't live there, otherwise they would be in a lot of trouble.

"I keep the car in the back room," Kevin said. He led them past the body repair section and through a door marked "employees only." There was only room for two cars inside, with one spot empty and Kevin's occupying the other. He gestured to the mini fridge against the far wall, next to a small counter with a sink. "If you guys want some coffee, help yourself. There's also probably some energy drinks in there, but they might be flat."

Muffling a yawn, Ben immediately trudged over. "I'll take it. It might not be a smoothie, but I'm going to need some help staying awake for this. Besides, who knows when the next time mom will let me touch anything caffeinated is?"

Gwendolyn hid a smile behind her hand. "Sugar is poison," she shot back, teasing.

Reaching into the fridge, Ben pulled out two dark cans, which Rook assumed to be an energy drink. He wouldn't know, since he had never seen one before. He tossed one at Kevin, who caught it easily, and popped open his. After taking a long, dramatic gulp from the can, Ben wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed. "Then I guess I'll just have to die."

Rook winced. As soon as the words were out of Ben's mouth, he seemed to have realized his mistake because he quickly tried to back track. "Oh, God, Rook… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to— I mean, I know you're upset, of course you are, a-and it's probably not something you want to be reminded of. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to bring back anything unpleasant for you, I just—"

"It is fine. I am not upset," Rook said stiffly, cutting him off. He really wasn't upset, but hearing Ben ramble like that, frantic to apologize, wasn't helping him think about something else. And at that point, Rook was getting a little desperate to think about anything other than Ben. He turned to Gwendolyn. "We should get started. Would you care to lead the way?"

Forcing a smile, Gwendolyn was quick to nod. "Absolutely! And you two—" she gave Ben and Kevin both a pointed look, "—had better finish those before you even think about coming into my library. If you think I won't kick you out, you're wrong." She turned to Kevin's car and approached the trunk. Rook followed her, making an effort to not look at Ben. Gwendolyn held her hand up to her mouth and her eyes lit up with mana. "Marsupium," she whispered into her palm. A small key, barely bigger than Rook's thumb, materialized out of mana and she grabbed it from where it was hanging in the air. With it, Gwendolyn unlocked Kevin's trunk.

Instead of the regular back of the car, filled with potential valuables that Kevin had scavenged on missions and yet to properly put away, there was a swirling magenta void that bottomed out into nothing. Rook peered into it, but there didn't seem to be walls or even a floor. It looked like it was flat, lacking depth. He stuck a hand into it, just to convince himself that he wasn't looking at a picture, and managed to sink in all the way up to the elbow without hitting anything. He drew back, frowning, and subconsciously shook his arm out.

When he turned to look at Gwendolyn, she was watching with her arms crossed and a look of amusement on her face. "Don't worry," she said. "The floor's not that far down and you won't get hurt, anyway. I mean, not as long as you aren't thinking about gravity. This dimension isn't tightly bound to any plane of existence so the only laws in there are the ones in your head." She tapped her temple and stepped forward, standing next to Rook. "Would it make you feel better if I went first?"

The offer alone made Rook smile. He took a step away and gestured at the trunk with a big, sweeping gesture. "Please, by all means."

Gwendolyn readily swung one leg over the side of the trunk, Kevin's car jostling with the motion. She slipped her other leg over to sit on the edge, then abruptly pushed off and fell like a stone. Rook leaned over to watch as she disappeared, a pinprick far, far beneath him until she wasn't visible at all.

The sound of laughter caused Rook to look up. "Don't worry, man," Kevin said, grinning. "It's a little nerve-wracking the first time, but it's not as bad as it seems. Just don't look down."

Rook swallowed thickly. "A little bit late for that," he muttered.

But he didn't want to be around Ben at the moment (at least, now with the lingering awkwardness and the pressure to hold a conversation), so Rook left Kevin and Ben to finish their energy drinks and copied the same motion that Gwendolyn did. The car bounced a lot more when Rook was the one moving, but he did his best to ignore it. Sitting on the lip of the trunk, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed off.

There was only a second where Rook was in free fall and he hit the ground without so much as a jolt. He blinked, surprised, and looked back above his head. There was no sign of where he had just come from. The pocket dimension had no walls, only swirling mana extending in all directions. Books had been set on invisible shelves, artifacts left laying on tables that he couldn't see. Just being in the room, it was so filled with magic that Rook's fur stood on edge.

"Glad you could join me," Gwendolyn joked. She was seated on a chair that she'd made of mana, a stack of books already by her leg. "When you want to leave, just fall in the other direction. You'll pop right back out." Her expression softened. "Do you want to talk about what happened back there, with Ben, or do you want to get straight to work?"

He shook his head and walked over to Gwendolyn. Rook took a seat on the ground that wasn't there by her feet, grabbing the first book on top of the stack that she already had waiting. "Work," he mumbled. "I want this entire thing to be over. The sooner we begin, the better."

After that, Gwendolyn didn't speak to him, which Rook was grateful for. She had pulled every book off of the shelves that had anything to do with time and there was a lot to go through. It took a few minutes, but once Kevin and Ben joined them, they were all settled down and the only noise was the rapid flipping of pages.

It was rare, but if a spell looked promising, Gwendolyn would bookmark the page and set it to the side to look at more closely later. Rook went through a dozen books before he found one that seemed like it might apply to their situation. It was slow and dull work. The words on the pages were swimming in front of Rook's eyes before long. He knew that everyone else had to be feeling the same, but no one complained.

There was a break for them to have lunch, but Rook didn't eat. They weren't even halfway through the books that Gwendolyn had and he refused to leave until he'd exhausted all of their resources. So far she only had four spells to try and he wasn't going to bet Ben's life on those odds. He didn't trust that the loop was stable. It only took one mishap and then Ben would be dead and Rook would wake up to a Friday with misery keeping him from rolling out of bed again. He couldn't handle that.

If Rook had to wake up to a morning without Ben, he wasn't sure what he would do.

He could tell that the others were worried about him, but he didn't let that get to him. Rook could eat once he was sure that they'd done all they could to break the loop. He ignored the whispers about him and the concerned looks. All that mattered was the pile of books still left for him to go through.

Hours passed until Rook finally reached for the next book, only to realize that there wasn't anything left in the stack for him to grab. He looked around him and noticed that the others were similarly on their last books, all looking just as exhausted as he was. A part of Rook felt bad for dragging them into such a time-consuming project, but then he remembered that they hadn't done it for him. They were all doing it for Ben. It was just that they hadn't wanted to let Rook do it alone. He smiled to himself and stood, stretching with a yawn and a groan as what felt like every joint in his body popped and cracked.

"You done, Rook?" Ben asked from where he was laying on his stomach. He looked up from the book he was reading and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "If you're going up, can you go ahead and order dinner? Kevin left some takeout pizza menus on the counter so you can just get something and we'll pay with cash when the delivery guy shows up."

Rook couldn't keep the surprise off of his face. "It is already time for dinner?" He asked. When had all of those hours slipped by?

"Afraid so," Gwendolyn said good-naturedly. She patted the small pile of marked books next to her. "I'm going to go through these one final time to see what the requirements are. And sometimes complex spells like these are worded so that you don't always realize there's a catch. If I'm not up there when the pizza gets here, go ahead and start eating without me. I'm sure Kevin and Ben will be finishing up soon, too."

He nodded and stepped into the middle of the room, where the exit was. Rook wanted to thank them all for their help but the words were stuck in his throat. He shook his head, forcing the thought away, and thought about leaving the ground. When he'd convinced himself that there was no ground to leave, Rook jumped and felt the trunk pop open, spilling him out on the ground next to Kevin's car. The lack of magenta made his eyes ache. Adjusting was going to take a while after spending all day in there.

Just like Ben said, Kevin had left some menus on the counter. There was an old landline attached to the wall. Rook had never used one and it felt clunky in his hands, but his Plumber's badge didn't connect to Earth cell towers. It was easy enough to figure out. Once the call had been answered, Rook put in an order for a cheese pizza, a meat lovers', and a Hawaiian. That was the default whenever pizza was ordered for their group of four, a tidbit that Rook had been quick to learn.

He smiled to himself. Pineapple on pizza had a unique flavor and texture that reminded Rook of Amber Ogia, in a way, which was why he liked it. That didn't stop Ben from making faces and pretending to gag every time Rook ordered it, though.

Ben…

There was movement from the car, which was Rook's only warning before Kevin popped out the trunk and stumbled, landing on his feet. He shook his head and walked over to where Rook was standing. "Did you order? I've got cash so don't worry about that." Kevin pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and snorted. "Paper money is so old fashioned… When do you think pizza places will start taking intergalactic credit?"

He nodded along to what Kevin was saying, but Rook wasn't really listening. A frown tugged at his face. A part of him wanted to talk to Ben, to clear the lingering tension between them, but… Did it matter? If whatever spell Gwendolyn cast didn't work, then Ben wouldn't remember their conversation. Rook would have to start over the next morning anyway.

"Hey." Kevin waved a hand in front of Rook's face, snapping him out of his thoughts. He blinked and stared, arching his brow, waiting for Kevin to continue. Which he did, rolling his eyes. "Look, I get that you've seen some pretty terrible things, but you need to lighten up. You're acting like Ben is already dead and it's making him feel like shit. I've seen him die before too, so I know how you feel. Relax. Do you think a little thing like dying or being stuck in a time loop can stop Ben Tennyson?" He smiled faintly and punched Rook on the shoulder. "Even if this doesn't work, we'll figure something out. Ben will be fine. And so will you."

Rook couldn't help the rush of fondness that came over him. "Thank you, Kevin. I—"

"This conversation never happened." Kevin cut him off with a flat voice and moved away. He started shuffling through his wallet, pulling out crumpled bills. "Gwendolyn and Ben will be up in a few minutes. They just wanted to talk some things over."

There was nothing more to say, so Rook nodded and watched Kevin walk over to lean against the wall next to the door that let outside. The garage had a small window and Rook could see that the sun had already set. He'd gone the whole day without a glimpse of sunlight. Something about that struck Rook as wrong, making his stomach twist, but he couldn't describe what the problem was.

After another minute of quiet while Kevin tapped away at his phone, the car once again began to shake. Rook was automatically alert as the trunk popped open. Gwendolyn landed gracefully on her feet, hovering above the ground before touching down without a sound. She grabbed Ben's arm at the last minute to keep him from falling over. Once he was steady, she tucked the book in her hands under one arm and again summoned a mana key. The trunk was locked, storing her collection safely away.

Seeing Gwendolyn holding only one book made Rook's heart sink. He had thought that, with the several they'd collected, more would prove to be promising. There was only one spell for her to try. He hoped that it worked.

"Alright, I went through the other books you guys gave me," Gwendolyn said. "Most of them were asking for some really high prices, like your youth or a collection of souls. This is the only one I found that seemed like it could work without ruining someone's life."

Ben hummed with interest. "Really? It has no catch?"

There was a pause and Gwendolyn's expression darkened. "No, it has a catch. But that's for me to worry about. Now, step back. I need room to set this up."

A protest started on Ben's lips, but Kevin set a hand on his shoulder and yanked him back. He watched unhappily as Gwendolyn summoned a piece of chalk and knelt in the middle of the empty space in the garage, beginning to draw. Rook had never seen her do magic like that and he couldn't help but watch with fascination. She was very precise, never stopping or needing to erase. Circles crossed each other, runes were scribbled into the empty spaces, and a six-pronged star was at the head of it, where Gwendolyn stood when she was done.

The center of what she'd drawn had been left empty. Rook wondered if she was going to put a candle there, but instead she made a thin sheet out of mana. It looked as delicate as glass. He didn't have to wonder what it was for — Gwendolyn took a deep breath and used the razor sharp edge to slice her palm open.

Immediately, Ben lurched forward. Kevin had to grab his Omnitrix wrist and put an arm around his chest to keep him from tackling Gwendolyn. "What the hell are you doing?" Ben shouted, struggling against Kevin's hold. "Gwen, stop! Whatever this price is, forget it! We can figure this out without a blood bond!"

"Shut up, Ben," Gwendolyn snapped, stunning him into silence. "Just let me do this for you. This is our only option."

She squeezed her hand over the center of the symbol she'd drawn. As soon as blood hit the ground, the chalk lines began to glow an ethereal blue. Gwendolyn opened the book with her other hand and began to recite the spell. As she did, she began to levitate, eyes glowing blue as wind whipped through the room strong enough to send chills down Rook's spine. The lights flickered and shut off with a dull click.

O, quam adit harenas bisque per temporis lapsus

per digitos fortiter strictum.

Et rursum versa poterimus subsistere.

Hold vobis dimittere.

Tempus est Fallacia;

et non Transcendit.

There was a blinding burst of light that died down as quickly as it came. When Rook lifted his head to look, the chalk on the ground was gone. Blood still stained the concrete, but it looked blackened and aged. Gwendolyn said nothing, clutching her bleeding hand by the wrist. She wouldn't look at Ben.

No one moved for a long minute. Finally, Ben elbowed Kevin off of him with a scowl. Letting him go, Kevin walked over to one of the drawers by his work station. He dug out a clean hand towel and approached Gwendolyn, gently taking her hand and wrapping the wound.

Rook had no idea what he was thinking. Kevin wouldn't be happy about his girlfriend putting herself in danger like that, but he must have known that nothing he'd said would have stopped her, because he was uncharacteristically quiet. None of them felt like holding a conversation anymore.

The only thing left to do was wait and see if the spell had worked.

By the time the pizza arrived, still no one had spoken, and no one talked while they ate, either. Rook didn't mind the silence. It was easier for him, actually. He sat next to Ben while they ate and got a strained smile for his efforts. That said more than a simple reassurance could.

It wasn't late, but they were all exhausted. Rook had never thought that reading could be so tiring. Kevin had a cot and some blankets that he used when he stayed late to work on his car (that way Gwendolyn couldn't get on him about sleeping in his garage) and there were some more blankets kept in the car for when their team used to camp out or stay somewhere late.

Gwendoyln wasn't up for teleporting after the spell she'd just casted and she didn't feel like dealing with her roommate, either, so she decided to settle down with Kevin for the night. It was obvious what she was doing, but no one called her out on it. If the situations were reversed, Rook wouldn't want to be alone either.

He removed his armor and took two blankets to lay on the floor. It wasn't very comfortable, but Rook had gotten used to sleeping in less-than-desirable locations in the Plumbers Academy. The cot creaked as Gwendolyn and Kevin laid down on it together. She was mostly on top of him with the limited space, but neither of them seemed to mind. Rook wasn't going to say anything, either. After the last few days, he'd want to go to sleep holding someone. He thought of Rayona, and his family, and the view of the farm at night and the aching in his chest only worsened.

Yes, Rook couldn't judge them. He'd love some comfort, too.

He rolled over so that his back was to the cot, surprised to find himself looking at Ben. They were spaced several feet apart, but close enough to touch, if they wanted to. Ben still had his eyes open. He stared at Rook for a moment, then glanced at where Gwendolyn and Kevin were. Their breathing had evened out, but it had only been a few minutes, so Rook knew that they couldn't already be asleep. Though he gave a faint smile, Ben said nothing.

Rook closed his eyes and, similarly, tried to fall asleep. As tired as he was, it was difficult to stop his pounding thoughts. Now that he had nothing to focus on, he could feel the sharp headache building behind his eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep, but…

But what if he woke up and it was still Thursday? What was he going to do?

He opened his eyes and, without thinking, reached out. Rook stopped himself before he could touch Ben and let his hand rest on the floor between them. "Ben," he whispered. If his partner was already asleep, Rook wasn't going to wake him. "Are you awake?"

To his relief, Ben cracked open one eye and muffled a yawn. "Yeah, dude? What is it?" He asked sleepily.

There was a pause. Rook swallowed thickly. Finally, he managed, "I'm scared."

He saw Ben shrug off some of the tiredness, his expression softening. Before Rook could say more, Ben had reached over to close the gap between them, setting his hand overtop of Rook's. "I know," he said. "I am, too. I don't know how to solve a problem like this. But even if I don't remember today by tomorrow, I'm here to help you, Rook. Even if it takes a hundred attempts, don't stop asking me. Okay?"

Blinking away tears, Rook nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the way that Ben had smiled at him. It was better than having to watch another death. And as long as the days kept getting better, Rook thought, they had to figure out the loop eventually. He squeezed Ben's hand. Before he fell asleep, Rook's last thought was how much nicer it felt to do that when he wasn't wearing armor.

A/N: A soft reminder that this fic takes place before season seven, so Gwen doesn't have Hex's library for her to use yet. I promise that's not a detail that I overlooked.

I know this chapter wasn't the most exciting, but I'm working on it. Pushing someone to a breaking point takes time.